Machine for working a glass plate

ABSTRACT

A glass plate working machine includes table 20 on which glass plate 22 is placed, breaking unit 3 for forming a cutting line on glass plate 22 placed on table 20, and pressing the glass plate in the vicinity of a portion of the glass plate 22 formed with the cutting line to break that portion off; and moving unit 67 connected to the breaking unit 3 for moving same linearly along a surface of glass plate 22 placed on table 20. Breakage by breaking unit 3 and movement by moving unit 67 are controlled by a numerical control unit.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 07/743,382, filed Aug. 19,1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,034.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a glass breaking device suitable forforming a window glass for an automobile, etc., by breaking an unshadedglass plate, and a glass plate working machine including such a breakingdevice.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventional breaking devices in glass plate working machines mainlyinclude fire type ones and pressing and breaking type ones.

For example, the fire type device includes a flame blowout unit disposedat a required position outside a glass plate cutting line such that theflame from the flame blowout unit is applied to a glass plate to heatsame to thereby break the plate.

The press-breaking type device includes an end cutter and a press unitdisposed at required positions. The cutter is first operated to form anend cutting line on the glass plate and then the press unit is operatedto break the glass.

As mentioned above, in any of the conventional breaking devices, a flameblowout unit or an end cutter and a press unit are required to beprepared and disposed at required positions. If the shape of the glassplate changes, the layout of the flame blowout units or end cutter andpress unit set for obtaining the previous shape of the glass plates mustbe canceled and a new layout of these devices must be made. These jobsare done almost by workers. If a plurality of the conventional breakingdevices is used, they must be disposed in a narrow space while avoidinginterference from each other. In addition, effective arrangement of theend cutter and press unit at desired positions is very troublesome,difficult, and time consuming, so that bad breakage, for example,chipping would occur to thereby deteriorate the productivity greatly.

As described above, in the conventional breaking apparatus of the glassplate working machine, the end cutter and press unit are disposed atpredetermined positions. Thus, if the shape of a glass plate to beformed or cut varies, the layout of the end cutter and press unit mustbe changed correspondingly, so that the work is complicated, much worktime is required, and this process is not suitable for flexiblemanufacturing if various forms of glass plates are to be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. It isan object of the present invention to provide a glass plate breakingapparatus which is capable of adjusting immediately to a different shapeof a glass plate to be formed newly without requiring any re-layout ofthe end cutter and press unit which have been once laid out in a fixedmanner, simplifying the breaking operation, reducing the work time, andis suitable for flexible manufacturing, and a glass plate workingmachine including such a breaking device.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, the above object is achieved by aglass plate working machine comprising a table on which a glass plate isplaced, breaking mechanism for forming a cutting line on the glass plateplaced on the table, pressing the glass plate with the cutting line at aportion of the glass plate near the cutting line to break that portionof the glass plate off, a moving unit connected to the breakingmechanism for moving the breaking mechanism linearly along a surface ofthe glass plate placed on the table, a turning unit connected to themoving unit for turning the moving unit around a center line normal tothe surface of the glass plate, and a controller for controllingbreakage operation by the breaking mechanism, movement operation by themoving unit and turning operation by the turning unit.

In the glass plate working machine according to the present invention,the breaking mechanism is connected to the moving unit which is, inturn, connected to the turning unit and the breakage operation of thebreaking mechanism, the movement operation of the moving unit and theturning operation of the turning unit are controlled by the controller,so that if a control program corresponding to the shape of a glass plateto be formed is prepared and the controller is operated under thecontrol of this control program, only a change of the control program isrequired to form a different shape of glass plate.

In the glass plate working machine according to the present invention,wherein since the moving unit is connected to the turning unit so as tobe capable of positioning the breaking mechanisms at equally angularlyspaced positions in the direction of turning of the moving unit by theturning unit, the breaking mechanisms can equally share the breakingoperation on the overall periphery of the glass plate.

The present invention is applicable also to a glass plate workingmachine which produces an automobile window glass, for example, glassfor side windows, front windows, rear windows and rear quarter windowson a flexible manufacturing basis.

Of course, the present invention is applicable to glass plate workingmachine for grinding and processing the edge of not only an automobileglass but also a table top glass put on a table and other glass plateshaving a deformed shape, etc..

A glass plate working machine according to the present invention may bearranged such that a glass plate is worked and conveyed in accordancewith a numerical control system.

A glass plate working machine according to the present invention may bearranged such that grinding and cutting of glass are performedconcurrently under the control of a numerical control device or glassplates are sequentially fed under control over the numerical controldevice.

A glass plate working machine according to the present invention may bearranged such that only the sole machine performs cutting, breaking andgrinding operations on an unshaped glass plate under the control of anumerical control device in a line conveyer system.

The glass plate working machine according to the present invention maybe arranged such that a glass plate is ground in the grinding stagewhile a cutting line is being formed by a cutter on another glass platein the cutting stage.

One of glass plate working machines according to the present inventionincludes a cutter for forming a cutting line on an unshaped glass platein accordance with numerical information, a grind unit for grinding acut edge of the glass plate, a breaking unit provided between the cutterand the grinding unit for breaking the glass along its cutting line, anda glass conveying unit for sequentially conveying the glass plate to thecutter, breaking unit, grind unit and, when required, a discharge unit.

The glass plate working machine according to the present invention maybe arranged such that the cutter and the grinding unit are connected toeach other by a common driving mechanism to thereby interlock therespective motions, to perform the cutting and grinding operations inparallel and to simultaneously break a glass plate to be transferred tothe grinding unit in the next cycle.

A glass plate breaking apparatus according to the present invention maycomprise an angle control unit provided above the center of a glassplate placed on a table so as to have a rotational axis normal to anupper surface of the table, a linear slide unit provided in a movableportion of the angle control unit and having a linearly moving slidemember which moves parallel to the upper surface of the table, an endcutter and a press unit juxtaposed on the slide member of the linearslide unit as opposed to the table, a mechanism for controlling theangle control unit and the linear slide unit on the basis of previouslystored information to move the end cutter and press unit as a unit in apolar coordinate system to sequentially position the end cutter andpress unit such that the end cutter is sequentially activated in anangular movement in one direction to perform an end cutting operation ateach of required positions and that the press unit is sequentiallyactivated in a return angular control movement to perform a pressingoperation at required positions.

In the breaking unit of the glass plate working machine according to thepresent invention, an end cutter and a press unit provided as opposed toa glass plate is moved as a unit in a polar coordinate system incombinations of angle turn control and linear movements above the glassplate to sequentially position the end cutter and press unit. The endcutter is sequentially activated in one angle control process directionto cut off the glass plate end when required, and the press unit issequentially activated on the glass plate to break same off in thereturn angle control process.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in moredetail with reference to the drawings and the present invention andother inventions will be clarified.

It is to be noted that the present invention is not limited to thoseembodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of an illustrative embodiment of a glass plateworking machine according to the present invention

FIGS. 2 and 3 each are a cut-away plan view of the working machine ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a glass plate conveyer of the working machineof FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a breaking unit of the working machine of FIG.1;

FIGS. 6-8 are side views and cross-sectional views of the workingmachine of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are a front view and a side view, respectively, of agrinding head of the working machine of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are a front view and a side view, respectively, of acutting head of the working machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged plan view of the breaking unit of the workingmachine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged front view of the breaking unit of the workingmachine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the essential portion of thebreaking unit of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 illustrates the operation of an end cutter of FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a front view of another embodiment of the breaking unit ofthe glass plate working machine according to the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a plan view of the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a front view of a further illustrative embodiment of thebreaking unit of the working machine according to the present invention;

FIG, 20 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 19;

FIG, 21 is a front view of a still further embodiment of the breakingunit of the glass plate working machine according to the presentinvention;

FIG, 22 is a front view of another embodiment of the breaking unit ofthe glass plate working machine according to the present invention; and

FIG. 23 is a plan view of the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 22.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-16, a glass plate working machine according to thepresent invention includes a cutter 1 shown in the right-hand portion ofFIG. 1, a grinding unit 2 shown in the left-hand portion of FIG. 1, abreaking unit 3 at the center of FIG. 1 and a glass plate conveying unit4 behind those elements. Insertion table 5 is disposed to the right ofcutter 1 while take-out conveyer 6 is disposed behind grinding unit 2.Cutting head 7 of cutter 1 and polishing or grinding head 8 of grindingunit 2 are connected to a common driving means 9 such that they performthe same parallel motion in the X-Y orthogonal plane coordinate systemunder control of the numerically controlled interlock means 9. Cuttinghead 7 and grinding head 8 shares the X and Y axes of the orthogonalcoordinate system. In the glass plate working machine, cutting head 7and grinding head 8 are adapted to move in the X axis direction whilework table 19 which holds a glass plate is adapted to move in the Y axisdirection as shown in FIG. 2.

Mount 12 is provided through gate-type the mount 11 upstanding at eachend of base 10. Two slide rail units 13 are provided in front of themount 12 so as to extend in parallel in the X axis direction. Slide railunit 13 includes parallel rails 14 provided on mount 12 so as to extendparallel to the X direction and a plurality of slides 15 which move onrails 14 as shown in FIG. 3, and to which a linear movement base 16 isfixed. The linear movement base 16 is provided with cutting head 7 andgrinding head 8. Therefore, cutting head 7 and grinding head 8 are movedin the X axis direction in conjunction with the movement of linearmovement base 16 of slide 13.

The drive of linear movement base 16 in the X axis direction is made byfeed screw 17 provided between the pair of slide rails 14 and X axiscontrol motor 18 connected to feed screw 17. Driving means 9 includesrail units 13, linear movement base 16 and motor 18, as mentioned above.

Work table 19 is provided below cutting head and grinding 8 so as to bemoved in the Y axis direction. Disposed on work table 19 are cuttingtable 20 corresponding to cutting head 7 and sucker unit 21corresponding to grinding head 8. Cutting table 20 has an upper flatsurface, which is wider than an unshaped glass plate 22 to be cut, andis covered with a sheet on which the glass plate 22 is supported so asnot to impair the glass plate 22. Sucker unit 21 is connected through apiping valve to a vacuum pump (not shown) so as to vacuum suck the glassplate.

Work table 19 has slides 23 parallel to each other in the Y axisdirection at each end thereof and each engaging a corresponding sliderail 24. By such engagement, table 19 is supported slidably in the Ydirection on slide rails 24. Since slide rails 24 extend in the Y axisdirection on the base 10, table 19 is guided movably in the Y axisdirection by rails 24.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drive of table 19 in the Y axis directionis made by a pair of feed screws 25 provided along slide rails 24, apair of gear boxes 26 connected to feed screws 25, line shaft 27connected with gear boxes 26, and a Y axis control motor 28 whichrotates line shaft 27 through a belt transmission means.

Disposed on the front 29 of linear movement base 16 movable in the Xaxis direction, is a pair of bearing units 30 each corresponding to eachof sucker unit 21 and cutting table 20 on work table 19. Each bearingunit 30 has shaft 31 supported by bearings. Shafts 31 are disposed alongan vertical axis normal to the X-Y plane coordinate system. Cutting head7 and grinding head 8 are attached to those corresponding shafts 31.

By rotation of shafts 31, cutting head 7 and grinding head 8 are rotatedaround the corresponding vertical axis normal to the X-Y coordinateaxes. Rotation of cutting head 7 and grinding head 8 is made by bevelgears 32 attached to shafts 31 of bearing units 30, line shaft 33 whichis provided with the bevel gears 32 at the ends thereof, and Z axiscontrol motor 34 which drives line shaft 33.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, cutting head 7 includes cutter body 36 withcutter wheel 35, setting slide 37 and cross slide 38 which adjust theset position of cutter body 36 in the two directions orthogonal to eachother in a horizontal plane, and frame 39 to which setting slide 37 isattached. Frame 39 is attached at an upper portion to shaft 31 ofbearing unit 30.

The position of setting slide 37 is adjusted in a predetermineddirection by screw 371. The position of cross slide 38 is adjusted byscrew 381 in another direction intersecting with the formerpredetermined direction.

Cutter body 36 includes body 40 attached to setting slide 37, piston rod41 held movably vertically, for example, through a slide bearing, andair cylinder 42 which vertically moves piston rod 41 attached to body40, a cutter wheel 35 being attached to an end of piston rod which movesvertically in the Z direction. When a glass plate is to be cut, pistonrod 41 lowers to apply a cutting pressure to cutter wheel 35 and henceto the glass plate on cutter wheel 35.

The position of cutter wheel 35 can be adjusted to the position of therotational axis of cutting head 7 or the position of the axis 391 ofshaft 31 of bearing unit 30 by rotating adjusting screws 371 and 381 ofsetting slide 37 and cross slide 38. The position of cutter wheel 35 candeviate from the position of axis 391, so that fine adjustment of thelocus of cutting on glass plate 22 by wheel 35 is made. Thus, the locusof cutting is either enlarged or reduced. Of course, cutter wheel 35 isangularly controlled under the control of rotation of shaft 31 such thatits cutting direction or moving direction is always tangential to thecutting line.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, grinding head 8 includes spindle motor 43,cutting adjustment slide 44 and cross slide 45 for adjusting theposition of the spindle motor 43 in two orthogonal horizontaldirections, and slide 46 for adjusting the vertical position of grindingwheel 47 which is attached to the shaft of spindle motor 43.

Cutting adjustment slide 44 is moved adjustably in a predetermineddirection by turning screw 441. Cross slide 45 is adjustably moved inanother direction orthogonal to the former direction by turning screw451. Vertical slide 46 is adjustably moved in a direction orthogonal toboth the aforementioned directions by turning screw 461. Shaft 31 ofbearing unit 30 is attached to an upper portion of cross slide 45 andthe entire grinding head 8 is suspended by shaft 31.

Grinding head 8 is attached such that the peripheral grinding orpolishing surface of grinding wheel 47 coincides with the axis 392 ofshaft 31 by adjusting cutting adjustment slide 44 and cross slide 45 orby turning screws 441 and 451.

As just described above, when a grinding or polishing point P on theperiphery of grinding wheel 47 coincides with axis 392 of shaft 31, agrinding point P on the periphery of grinding wheel 47 draws a locus ofmovement coinciding substantially with cutter wheel 35 of cutting head7.

In grinding head 8, cutting adjustment slide 44 is moved by screw 441such that grinding point P on the periphery of grinding wheel 47 isahead of the axis of shaft 31, and that the locus of movement of thepoint P is slightly reduced compared to that of cutter wheel 35 to givea quantity of cutting to thereby adjust the ground finished size.

Of course, grinding wheel 47 also is angularly controlled by controlover the rotation of shaft 31 such that the line connecting the grindingpoint P on the periphery of grinding wheel 47 with the rotational centerof grinding wheel 47 is maintained at all times at a constant angle tothe edge line of the glass plate.

Glass plate conveyer unit 4 is provided above work table 19 alongcutting table 20 and grinding sucker 21. Glass plate conveyer unit 4 hasa pair of feed shaft mount 50 on the side frame bases 11 of base mount10 and extending parallel to mount 12 and movable in the X axisdirection. A movable base 52 is provided through slide 53 on parallelguide rails 51 provided on the underside of feed shaft mount 50 so as tobe moved or guided parallel to the X axis direction. The movement ofmovable base 52 of glass plate conveyer unit 4 is made by feed screw 90provided between the pair of guide rails 51, and feed shaft drive motor92 connected through transmission means 91 such as a toothed belt tofeed screw 90. Feed shaft drive motor 92 is controlled on the basis ofnumerical information from the numerical control unit. Therefore, aswill be described later, the conveyance or transfer of a glass plate byglass plate conveyer unit 4 is accurately made by numerical control.

Movable base 52 is provided with a movable frame 55 through brackets 54at the underside thereof. Movable frame 55 is provided so as to extendthrough cutting unit 1 and grinding unit 2 and has sucker pads 56 (56A,56B and 56C) at the respective positions of the each working stage,namely, corresponding to those of heads 7 and 8. Namely, sucker pads 56are located above insertion table 5, cutting table 20 and grindingsuckers 21. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, sucker pads 56 are attached tocorresponding air cylinders 58 attached to movable frame 55 or movablebase 52 through brackets 57.

Sucker pads 56 are attached to piston rods 59 of air cylinders 58, whichare arranged such that by extension of piston rods 59, sucker pads 56are caused to suck an appropriate glass plate 22 so as to lift glassplate 22 when piston rods 59 is moved upwards.

Glass plate conveyer unit 49 moves movable frame 55 in the X directionto move the glass plate 22 to next working stage under the state inwhich glass plate 22 is lifted. After this movement, sucker pads 56 areagain lowered by air cylinders 58 and then suction force which sucksglass plate 22 is released such that glass plate 20 is transferred tothat working stage.

Each air cylinder 58 has a rotation stopping mechanism which stops therotation of its sucker pad 56 when it is moved vertically.

Breaking unit 3 disposed between cutting unit 1 and grinding unit 2 isarranged to break glass plate 22 along its cutting line. Especiallyshown in detail in FIGS. 13-16, breaking unit 3 includes end cutter 60which forms an auxiliary cutting line, which facilitate breakage,outside the cutting line formed by cutter 1, press unit 61 which breaksoff that portion of the glass plate outside the cutting line, breakingconveyer 62 on which the glass plate 22 to be broken is put and by whichthe broken glass cullet is conveyed away, vertically movable sucker 63for pressing the glass plate 22 against breaking conveyer 62 during thetime when end cutter 60 and press 61 are operating, lifting the glassplate 22 after breakage and feeding the glass plate to the next grindingunit 2.

The glass plate working machine of the present embodiment is arrangedsuch that the positions of end cutter 60 and press unit 61 arecontrolled in the orthogonal X-Y plane coordinate system by a previouslystored numerical control program so as to be stopped sequentially atrequired positions for auxiliary cutting or pressing.

End cutter 60 and press unit 61 are provided through a common bracket 64on a slide assembly 67 of an X axis direction guide and drive means 65and a Y axis direction guide and drive means 66 arranged in orthogonalrelationship. As shown in FIG. 13, the X axis direction guide and drivemeans 65 includes X axis linear slide 68 provided on the underside ofmovable base 52 of glass plate conveyer unit 4 so as to be parallel tothe direction in which glass plate conveyer unit 4 moves while the Yaxis direction guide and drive means 66 includes Y axis linear slide 71attached through a bracket to slide 69 of X axis linear slide 68 so asto be orthogonal to slide 69.

X and Y axis linear slides 68 and 71 each mainly include a guided drive70 and servo motor 70A. Slides 69 and 69A are fed stepwise by a servomotor, for example under control of a controller. Of course, slides 68and 71 are connected to the controller which has the functions ofwriting into and reading from a memory, receiving teaching data,transmitting data and includes a CPU, etc..

As shown in FIGS. 14-16, end cutter 60 mainly includes cutter block 72to which a cutter wheel is rotatably attached so as to be parallel tothe surface of the glass plate, air cylinder 73 which moves cutter block72 vertically toward and away from glass plate 2 and angle control motor74 which directs cutter block 72 in an auxiliary cutting direction or inan end cutting direction. Cutter block 72 is attached to piston rod 75of air cylinder 73.

Timing pulley 77 is attached through bearing 76 concentrically withpiston rod 75 to the underside of air cylinder 73 which presses thecutter wheel against glass plate 22. Protrusion 79 with slot 78 extendsfrom the underside of timing pulley 77. By turning protrusion 79attached to timing pulley 77, protrusion 79 is engaged with engagingmember 80 to thereby change the direction of cutter block 72 and henceto case the cutter wheel to align with the auxiliary cutting direction.Of course, timing pulley 77 can be driven through belt 81 by anglecontrol motor 74 attached to the common bracket 64.

Press unit 61 which includes air cylinder 83 and push rod 82 attached tothe piston rod of air cylinder 83 is attached to bracket 64 through aircylinder 83. Press unit 61 breaks glass plate 22 along its end cuttingline by pushing push rod 82 against that portion of glass plate 22outside the auxiliary cutting line on glass plate 22 under the actuationof air cylinder 83.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, a pair of cutter 60 and press unit 61 whichis in charge of breaking the glass plate is provided on each of the leftand right sides of central vertically movable sucker 63 which conveysthe glass plate so as to be in charge of the corresponding one of theright and left ranges. A slide assembly 67 which includes an orthogonalassembly structure of a pair of X and Y linear slides 68 and 71 isprovided on each of the right and left sides of sucker 63. Each slideassembly 67 includes corresponding end cutter 60 and press unit 61attached thereto. The slide assemblies 67 are controlled independentlyof each other in order to reduce a breaking cycle time.

The operation of breaking unit 3 will be described next. When glassplate 22 with a cutting line formed thereon by cutter 1 has returned toabove breaking conveyer 62 by sucker pad 56 of cutter 1 and glassconveyer unit 4, vertically movable sucker 63 lowers and pushes glassplate 22 against breaking conveyer 62 so as not to move easily. Undersuch conditions, the right and left pairs of end cutters 60 and pressunits 61 are sequentially moved to the required positions by thecontroller based on data previously inputted, then stopped there, andrequired angle control is provided over the cutter wheel to form anauxiliary cutter line or end cutting line. Press unit 61 is operatedunder the sequential position control in the forward way to provide abreaking press.

When the pressing operation has ended and end cutters 60 and press units61 have returned to their origins, vertically movable sucker 63 is movedupward to lift the remaining glass plate for preparing for delivery togrinding unit 2.

Breaking conveyer 62 of breaking unit 3 extends above work table 19between cutting table 20 and grinding sucker 21. Breaking conveyer 62 isdisposed such that its upper surface is substantially flush with therespective adjacent upper surfaces of cutting table 20 and grindingsucker 21. Breaking conveyer 62 includes conveyer belt 84 moving acrossthe upper surface is work table 19, support plate and frame 85 to allowconveyer belt 84 to move in a recirculating manner, and drive motor 88attached through a bracket to support plate and frame 85 to drive onedrum 87. The breaking conveyer is supported by mount base 10 throughbracket 89 on each of the ends of support plate and frame 85.

The upper surface of breaking conveyer 62 is sized so as to support theentire surface of the maximum-sized glass plate 22 fed to the presentglass plate working machine. The cullet produced by breaking the glassplate is discharged out of the present machine by driving conveyer belt84 and simultaneously, the machine receives a glass plate to be fed nexton its new cleaned belt surface of the conveyer belt 84.

The operation of the glass plate working machine of the presentembodiment and the process from the delivery of a glass plate to itsfinish will be described sequentially.

When the glass plate working machine starts in operation cutter wheel35, grinding wheel 47, work table 19 and glass plate conveyer unit 4stand by at their origins or start positions.

The origin of work table 19 is under sucker pad 56 of glass plateconveyer unit 4.

At the start position of work table 19, the line passing the centers ofsucker pads 56 aligning in the direction of progress of glass plate 22is arranged to coincide with the centerline of worktable 19.

The origin of glass plate conveyer unit 4 is a position where transferframe 55 is near the glass plate feed or insertion side or when suckerpad 56 and more particularly sucker pad 56A are located above insertiontable 5. It is defined when sucker pad 56 is located at a position shownin FIG. 1.

As described above, when each working unit is at the origin, first, anunshaped glass plate 22 is put on insertion table 5 for glass plate 22.A start button (not shown) for the working machine is pressed to startup the machine. Sucker pad 56A then lowers to suck and lift glass plate22.

Transfer base 52 moves under this situation due to the movement of glassplate conveyer unit 4. When sucker pad 56A arrives at a predeterminedposition on cutting table 20, sucker pad 56A lowers and releases thesuction for glass plate 22 to put it on cutting table 20, again risesand returns. Directly thereafter, transfer base 52 starts to move backto the origin at which time cutting head 7, grinding head 8 and worktable 19 start to move under numerical control and to perform a cuttingoperation, and, in more detail, a cutting line formation by cutter wheel35.

When cutting head 7, grinding head 8 and table 19 return to theirrespective origins after the cutting operation has ended, sucker pad 56again lowers to lift glass plate 22. Thus, by the movement of transferbase 52, the cut glass plate 22 on cutting table 20 is moved ontobreaking conveyer 62. A new glass plate 22 is fed to cutting table 20from insertion table 5.

When a cutting line is being formed on glass plate 22 on cutting table20, breaking unit 3 forms a cutting line in position on the glass platewith end cutter 60 disposed at the predetermined position. Sucker pad 56then lowers, sucks glass plate 22, operates press unit 62 disposed at apredetermined position to break off and remove unnecessary glassportions such as glass ends, while lifting sucker pad 56 and theresulting glass plate 22 having a predetermined outer shape.

Thereafter, termination of the cutting operation by cutting unit 1 isawaited.

After the cutting operation has ended, glass plate 22 on breaking unit 3is transferred to sucker 21 of grinding unit 2 by the operation of glassplate conveyer unit 4. The next glass plate with a cutting line thereonis fed to the breaking unit 3 and a new glass plate 22 is fed to cuttingtable 20.

The shaped glass plate 22 transferred to grinding unit 2 is ground orpolished concurrently with the next cutting operation. At the breakingunit 3, the breaking operation is performed concurrently with thecutting line forming operation and grinding operation.

Of course, the operation of grinding units 3 is performed in conjunctionwith the operation of cutting unit 1.

Glass plate 22 ground by grinding unit 2 is moved to taking conveyer 6in the next operation cycle of glass plate conveyer unit 4. Glass plate22 is taken out of the glass plate working machine by the operation oftaking conveyer 6.

As described above, the glass plate working machine of the presentembodiment is above to perform cutting and grinding operationsconcurrently using the common control means, so that the number ofoperations is greatly reduced compared to the conventional techniquewhich uses separate units.

The glass plate working machine of the present embodiment is able to cutand grind a glass plate on the basis of single numerical data, so thatit can easily adjust to a different kind of material to be worked and issuitable for flexible manufacturing.

While cutting unit 1 and grinding unit 2 are working the glass plate,breaking unit 3 automatically breaks another glass plate simultaneously,so that the breaking operation has a time margin to thereby ensureautomatic glass breaking.

The glass working machine of the present embodiment includes cuttingunit 1, breaking unit 3, grinding unit 2 and glass conveyer unit 4extending through cutting unit 1, breaking unit 3 and grinding unit 2,so that this sole machine can automatically perform the operations ofsupplying unshaped glass plate 22 to taking ground glass plate 22 in acontinuous manner without requiring manual operations.

The machine of this embodiment is very compact, reduces the space andrequires no large-scaled system which controls the respective units in asystematic manner compared to the large-scaled line glass plate workingmachine which includes separate units which are sequentially connectedthrough a conveyer. The present machine is convenient for changing thekind of products and suitable for flexible manufacturing.

Another specified example of the breaking unit in the glass plateworking machine according to the present invention will be described.

In FIG. 17, table 101 on which a glass plate is placed usually includesa belt conveyer unit to discharge the cullet produced by breaking theglass plate.

Frame 102 is disposed above table 101, and angle control unit 103 isattached to frame 102 above the center of table 101 or above the centerof a glass plate placed on table 101. Angle control unit 103 is attachedsuch that its rotational axis is normal to the upper surface of table101.

A linear slide unit 105 is attached directly or through an arm orbracket to movable member 104 of angle control unit 103. Linear slide105 is arranged such that its arm 105A rotates parallel to glass plate117 above the upper surface of table 101 due to the operation of anglecontrol unit 103 while its slide 106 linearly moves on arm 105A or moveslinearly parallel to glass plate 117.

End cutter 107 and press unit 108 are provided in juxtaposedrelationship to each other on slide 106 of linear slide unit 105 and arefaced to the table 101. End cutter 107 and press unit 108 perform apolar coordinate movement parallel to and over table 101 and hence overglass plate 117 to thereby perform a stepwise positioning movement dueto the operation of angle control unit 103 and linear slide unit 105.

In end cutter 107, cutter wheel block 110 is attached to an end of aircylinder 109 which moves toward and away from glass plate 117. In pressunit 108, a push rod 112 is attached to an end of air cylinder 117 whichmoves toward and away from glass plate 117. Angle control unit 103includes a motor with a rotary position detector, and is connected to adrive unit and the controller for digital servo control, positioncontrol, etc. Angle control unit 103 includes a position commandinputting unit, an information memory for input speed command, etc., amemory reading unit, etc.

Linear slide unit 105 mainly includes servo motor 113 and a guided driveunit 114 provided on arm 105A. Slide 106 is driven stepwise, etc., andfed under servo control by the controller. Of course, linear slide unit105 is connected to a controller such as mentioned above. The controllerhas the functions of writing data into a memory, reading data from thememory, receiving teachings, and transmitting data and includes a CPU,etc..

A fixed hollow body 115 is disposed at the center of rotation of anglecontrol unit 103. Disposed in hollow body 115 is sucker unit 116 whichmoves toward and away from table 101, from which glass plate 117obtained by breaking off the outer edge of the glass plate is lifted bysucker unit 116, and separated from its cullet, and the cullet isdischarged outside by the belt conveyer structure of the table itself.

According to the present embodiment, the juxtaposed end cutter 107 andpress unit 108 are subjected, above glass plate 117, to turning theturning angle of which is controlled around the center of glass plate117 and control of linear movement by linear slide 105 to besequentially positioned at the previously stored positions outside atangent to the glass plate 117. In the positioning, end cutter 107 isoperated when linear slide unit 105 is turned in one direction or in theA direction from the origin to perform sequential end cutting operationsand then operates press unit 108 due to turning of linear slide unit 105in the return or B direction to press and break the glass plate eachtime the positioning is performed.

Another specified example of the breaking unit of the present inventionwill be described with reference to FIGS. 19-21. In the breaking unit ofthe present embodiment, that portion of the breaking unit which is thesame in structure as that of the breaking unit of FIG. 17 is identifiedby the same reference numeral and a further description thereof will beomitted.

In FIGS. 19-21, belt conveyer unit 101 includes conveyer belt 100 onwhich glass plate 117 is placed and support plate 117A which supportsconveyer belt 100 on a flat surface thereof. Support plate 117A has acircular hole in the area which supports glass plate 117 in which holeglass plate support unit 118 is disposed.

Glass plate support unit 118 includes at its center an angle controlmotor 119 which has a rotational member 120 to which linear slide unit121 is attached so as to extend parallel to an upper surface of conveyerbelt 100. The slide 122 of linear slide unit 121 is provided with glassreceiver 123 at a position where glass plate 117 is supported throughconveyer belt 100.

Support base 124 which supports glass plate 117 and conveyer belt 100 ona flat portion thereof is provided upstanding from a central fixedportion of angle control motor 119. An upper surface of support base 124is set so as to be flush with support plate 117A which supports conveyerbelt 100.

Angle control motor 119 1s disposed such that its rotational center axisis normal to support base 124 or support plate 117A.

Therefore, linear slide unit 121 attached directly or through bracket125 to rotational member 120 extends parallel to an upper surface ofsupport base 124 or an upper surface of conveyer belt 100 so as to makea controlled horizontal turn around support base 124.

Belt support plate 127 which supports conveyer belt 100 is held bylinear slide unit 121 so as to rotate together with linear slide unit121. Angle control motor 119 has the same function as angle control unit103 of the breaking unit and is controlled and driven by the controllerin a manner similar to that mentioned above.

Linear slide unit 121 also has the same function as linear slide unit105 and is similarly controlled by the controller.

Angle control motor 119 is held by conveyer frame 131 through bracket130.

Glass receiver 123 attached to slide 122 of linear slide unit 121performs a polar coordinate system movement due to its numericallycontrolled linear motion and angular control of angle control motor 119to sequentially support required portions of glass plate 117.

When glass plate 117 is disposed on belt conveyer unit 101 and fixedlyheld between support base 124 of glass plate support unit 118 and suckerunit 116 of the breaking unit, and end cutter 107 and press unit 108 ofthe breaking unit are subjected to angularly controlled revolution byangle control unit 103 around the center of glass plate 117 above glassplate 117 and linear movement controlled by linear slide unit 105 to besequentially positioned at the previously store positions to therebyperform an end cutting or pressing operation, glass receiver 123 ofsupport unit 118 makes a polar coordinate system movement on the basisof a previously stored program to support glass plate 117 from below ata position where the end cutting or pressing is being made. Namely,glass receiver 123 moves following end cutter 107 and press unit 108 onthe basis of the previously stored program.

Normally as shown in FIG. 19, glass receiver 123 includes a flat portion128 and a step portion 129. When end cutter 107 is activated the flatportion 128 is involved in this operation while when press unit 108 isactivated, step 129 is aligned with a tangential to glass plate 117.

As mentioned above, according to the specified embodiment shown in FIG.19, glass plate 117 is supported at its center through conveyer belt 100by support base 124, pressed by sucker unit 116 and supported by glassreceiver 123 which moves in a polar coordinate system below conveyerbelt 100 each time end cutting and pressing is made for breakingpurposes. Therefore, glass plate 117 does not escape and bend and canfreely be pressed and broken.

Glass receiver 123 can freely change its position below conveyer belt100 which supports glass plate 177. As a result, glass plate 117 canbring glass receiver 123 to any position on a tangent to glass plate117.

Therefore, according to the present breaking unit, glass receiver 123can be sequentially moved to a plurality of required positions on glassplate 117 where end cutting or pressing is made by end cutter 107 andpress unit 108 positioned above glass plate 117 to thereby support glassplate 117. According to the breaking unit, glass plate 117 is supportedon a flat surface to be subjected to end cutting and further issupported at a step to be broken by pressing.

The breaking unit of this particular embodiment requires no templatesfor breakage. Those positions can be set sequentially, for example, bycomputer. Overall automation is possible as circumstances require. Thus,a glass plate working machine which is able to carry out the working forthe glass plate without any attendant may be constituted.

In the present invention, the breaking unit is not necessarily requiredto be a breaking unit which requires no templates. One specified exampleof the breaking unit using a template is shown in FIG. 21.

A breaking unit such as is shown in FIG. 21 includes conveyer belt 132which supports glass plate 117 on its flat surface, end cutter 107 andpress unit 198 which are provided above belt conveyer 132 and which movein an X-Y orthogonal coordinate system or polar coordinate system. Atemplate 133 cut along a cutting line formed on glass plate 117 isprovided between the inner side of the belt of belt conveyer 132 andbelt support plate 134 to form a step. In the present breaking unit,glass plate 117 is put through the belt of belt conveyer 132 such thatthe contour of the cutting line aligns with the contour of template 133.The glass aligns with the contour of template 133. The glass plate isthen end cut by end cutter 107 and broken by pushing the glass platealong the contour of template 133 at the step using the press force ofpress unit 108.

Another specified example of the breaking unit of glass plate workingmachine according to the present invention will be described.

In FIG. 22 and 23, table 202 on which glass plate 201 to be broken isplaced is normally constituted by a belt conveyer to discharge thecullet. Therefore, table 202 includes base 203, belt 204, roller 205around which belt 204 extends, and a servo motor 206, the rotationaloutput shaft of which is connected through a pulley or the like toroller 20S. When rollers 205 are rotated by the rotation of therotational output shaft of motor 206, an upper portion of belt 204 ismoved, for example, in the X direction. A turning unit 208 including aservo motor is attached to a support frame 207 provided above table 202.Support arm 211 of first moving unit 210 and support arm 213 of secondmoving unit 212 are connected through connection member 209 to theoutput rotational shaft of turning unit 208. First and second movingunits 210 and 212 have substantially the same structure.

In moving unit 210, servo motor 214 is attached to one end of supportarm 211 and has output shaft 215 which is connected to one end of screwshaft 216, which is supported rotatably at each end thereof by arespective one of bearings 217 and 218 fixed to support arm 211. Slide220 is slidably fitted to a pair of rails 219 fixed to support arm 211in the direction in which support arm 211 extends or in the R directionalong the surface of glass plate 211. Screw shaft 216 is screwed intoslide 220 so that when output shaft 215 of motor 214 is rotated andhence screw shaft 216 is rotated, slide 220 is moved linearly in the Rdirection.

End cutter 221 and press unit 222 which constitute the first breakingmechanism are attached to slide 220. End cutter 221 includes aircylinder 223 attached at one end to slide 220 and cutter wheel block 224attached to an end of the piston rod of air cylinder 223, cutter wheel225 being provided on cutter wheel block 224. End cutter 221 movescutter wheel block 224 and hence cutter wheel 225 toward and away fromglass plate 201 or in the Z direction by the actuation of air cylinder223. Press unit 222 similarly includes air cylinder 226 and push member227 attached to an end of the piston rod of air cylinder 226. Press unit222 moves push member 227 toward and away form glass plate 201 or in theZ direction by the actuation of air cylinder 226.

In the moving unit 212 which is constructed like moving unit 210, servomotor 228, a pair of rails 229 and bearings 230, 231 are attached tosupport arm 213. screw shaft 232 which is supported rotatably bybearings 230 and 231 is connected to the output rotational shaft ofmotor 228. Slide 233 is fitted to rail 229 slidably in the R direction.Screw shaft 232 is screwed into slide 233 whereby when the rotationaloutput shaft of motor 228 is rotated, slide 233 is linearly moved in theR direction.

End cutter 234 and press unit 235 similar to end cutter 221 and pressunit 222 and constituting a second breaking unit are attached to slide233. Therefore, cutter wheel block 238 including cutter wheel 237 isattached to the piston rod of air cylinder 236 of end cutter 234. Pushmember 240 is attached to the piston rod of air cylinder 239 of pressunit 235.

When the rotational output shaft of turning unit 208 is rotated in the Hdirection around the center line 241 normal to a surface of the glassplate 201, support arms 211 and 213 of moving units 210 and 212 are alsoturned around the center line 241 in the H direction through connectionmember 209.

Hollow member 242 is fixed at one end thereof to support frame 207 so asto extend through the center of turning unit 208. Sucker unit 243 whichmoves toward and away from glass plate 201 or in the Z direction isattached to a lower end of hollow member 242. After a portion of glassplate 201 outside breaking line 251 of glass plate 201 is broken away,sucker unit 243 lowers to vacuum draw up glass plate 201 to be formed asan article to separate same from the resulting cullet so as to expeditethe discharge of the cullet by belt 204.

Motor 206, turning unit 208, motors 214, 228 and sucker unit 243 areconnected to a controller (not shown), for example, a numerical controlunit comprising a computer, etc. and performs their respectiveoperations under control of the controller, as described below.

Breaking unshaped glass plate 201 along its breaking line 251 by thebreaking unit 250 of the present invention, thus constructed, will bedescribed below.

First, an unshaped rectangular glass plate 201 is placed on belt 204.This apparatus may use an attendant or sucker unit 243. If sucker unit243 is used, turning unit 208 and hollow member 242 are supportedmovably in the Y direction, for example, on support frame 207, whereinturning unit 208 and hollow member 242 are moved to glass plate table(not shown) by the Y direction moving unit (not shown), and glass plate201 is sucked up from the glass plate table by sucker unit 243 andturning unit 208 and hollow member 242 are moved to above belt 204 bythe Y direction moving unit. Sucker unit 243 is then lowered to releasethe sucking operation of sucker unit 243 on glass plate 201 to therebyplace glass plate 201 on belt 204. Such control over the movement ofturning unit 208 and hollow member 242 in the Y direction and suction,lifting and lowering of glass plate 201 by sucker unit 243, etc., may beperformed by the above-mentioned controller.

After glass plate 201 is placed on belt 204, turning unit 208 and motors214 and 228 are actuated by the controller to thereby turn support arms211 and 213 around center axis 241 in the H direction and move slides220 and 233 in the R direction. As a result, ends of cutter wheels 225and 237 are sequentially positioned along expected breaking line 251. Inthe successive positioning operations of cutter wheels 225 and 237, aircylinders 223 and 236 are actuated at required positions to lower cutterwheels blocks 224 and 238, such that ends of cutter wheels 225 and 237are applied to glass plate 201 to thereby form a cutting line onbreaking line 251 on glass plate 201.

The formation of the cutting line along breaking line 251 at requiredpositions continues until support arms 211 and 213 rotate through halfof the complete rotation on glass plate 201 or until support arms 211and 213 are turned from their respective start points through 180degrees in the H direction.

The same number of cutting lines is not required to be formedsimultaneously along breaking lines 251 at required positions by cutterwheels 225 and 237, but different numbers of cutting lines may insteadbe formed at different times in conformity to the forms of breakinglines 251.

The turning of support arms 211 and 213 in the H direction and themovement of slides 220 and 233 in the R direction are not required to beat respective constant speeds. For example, they may be at low speedduring the formation of a cutting line and may be at higher speedotherwise. They may be performed at various speeds in correspondence tothe form of breaking line 251. For example, if quantities of movement ofslides 220 and 233 in the R direction per unit turning angle of supportarms 211 and 213 in the H direction during the formation of breakinglines are large, the turning speed of support arms 211 and 213 in the Hdirection may be reduced while, conversely, if quantities of movement ofslides 220 and 233 per unit turning angle of support arms 211 and 213 inthe H direction during the formation of cutting lines are small, theturning speeds of support arms 211 and 213 in the H direction areincreased such that the moving speeds of cutter wheels 225 and 237relative to glass plate 201 during the formation of cutting lines may besubstantially equal at different required positions.

If support arms 211 and 213 are turned in the H direction through 180degrees from the start points, their turning and the movement of slides220 and 233 in the R direction are temporarily stopped by thecontroller. Sucker unit 243 is moved in the Z direction and lowered tosuck glass plate 201. Then sucker unit 243 rises to slightly lift glassplate 201. Under the condition where glass plate 201 is slightly lifted,the controller now controls turning unit 208 and motors 214 and 228 suchthat support arms 211 and 213 are now turned reversely, that slides 220and 233 are moved in the R direction, and that push members 227 and 237are located outside the breaking line 251. During successive positioningof push members 227 and 240 in the reverse turning of support arms 211and 213 in the H direction, air cylinders 226 and 239 are actuated atrequired positions to lower push members 227 and 240 so as to abut onthat portion of glass plate 201 outside the breaking line 251 on glassplate 201, and to break off that portion of glass plate 201, on whichthe cutting line is formed, at its breaking line 251. Breakage alongexpected breaking line 251 at required positions is made until supportarms 211 and 213 each are reversely half turned on the surface of glassplate 201, in other words, until support arms 211 and 213 are reverselyturned through 180 degrees from the points where their first turningoperations end in the H direction or to the positions where their firstturning operations start.

The breakage by push members 227 and 240 at required positions is notrequired to be made simultaneously by the same quantity, but may be madeat different points of time so as to be different in number incorrespondence to the forms of breaking lines 251 as in the formation ofthe cutting lines for breaking lines 251 at required positions by cutterwheels 225 and 237. While the turning of support arms 211 and 213 in theH direction and the movement of slides 220 and 223 in the R directionshould preferably be stopped when push members 227 and 240 abut on glassplate 201, they are not required to stop if push members 227 and 240 arearranged so as to be rotatable.

When support arms 211 and 213 are brought to the positions where theirfirst turning operations start, further turning of support arms 211 and213 in the H direction and further movement of slides 220 and 223 in theR direction are stopped by the controller at which time glass plate 201formed as an article by breakage at breaking line 251 and the resultingcullets are obtained and the cullets are discharged by the movement ofthe upper portion of tile belt 204 in the X direction.

The glass plate 201 as the article lifted by sucker unit 243 is conveyedto the next working position by the movement of turning unit 208 in theY direction for being subjected to the next working.

As just described above, the breaking operation is completed by half ofthe complete turning of support arms 211 and 213 in the breaking unit250 for glass plate 201 according to the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the specified embodiment of FIG.22. For example, while the embodiment of FIG. 22 shows support arms 211and 213 with a step, support arms 211 and 213 may be provided instead atthe same level.

Slides 220 and 233 may be arranged such that they each have a servomotor mounted thereon so as to be moved in the R direction.

While the embodiment shown in FIG. 22 is illustrated as including thepair of breaking mechanisms which in turn includes moving units 211.212, end cutters 221,234 and press units 222,235, the moving units 221and 222 mechanisms being connected to turning unit 208 such that therespective breaking mechanisms are capable of being positioned atpositions angularly spaced equally by 180 degrees in the direction ofturning of moving units 211 and 212 by turning unit 208 or in the Hdirection, three or more moving units and breaking mechanisms may beprovided, the respective moving units being connected to turning unit208 such that the respective breaking mechanisms are capable of beingpositioned at equally angularly spaced positions in the direction ofturning of the moving units by turning unit 208.

While the glass plate working machine according to the present inventionis suitable for forming the window glass of cars, it is not necessarilylimited to it in use.

As described above, the glass plate working machine according to thepresent invention includes moving units for linearly moving therespective breaking mechanisms along the surface of a glass plate placedon the table, the turning unit for turning the moving units around thecenter line normal to the glass plate, and the controller which controlsthe breaking operation of the breaking units, the movements of themoving units, and the turning operation of the turning unit, so thateven if the shapes of glass plates to be formed by breakage vary fromone to another, semi-permanent reinstallation of the breaking mechanismsis not required for each of possible different shapes of the glassplates, but previous preparation of control programs can directly adjustto such variations of the shapes of glass plates to thereby simplify thebreaking operation, to reduce the working time and to adjust to flexiblemanufacturing.

In a case where the respective moving units are connected to the turningunit such that the respective breaking mechanisms are positionable atequally angularly spaced positions in the direction of turning of themoving units by the turning unit, breakage of the overall periphery of aglass plate can be shared equally by a plurality of breaking mechanismsto thereby greatly reduce the breaking time.

As described above, a pair of end cutter and press unit is used toperform end cutting on a journey in one direction and to performpressing and braking on the return journey while being moved andpositioned in a polar coordinate system, so that the arrangement issimple and efficiently performs complete automatic breakage on the datastored previously. If the shape of a glass plate to be broken changes,the program is only required to be changed. In end cutting, the cutterwheel is lowered at required positions through the air cylinder so as toabut on the glass plate, and the linear slide unit is operated forlinear movement. Therefore a desired cut end length is obtained.

I claim:
 1. A glass plate working machine comprising:a cutting unit forforming a cutting line on an unshaped glass plate to facilitate breakingthe glass plate along the line; a breaking unit for automaticallybreaking the glass plate along the cutting line; a grinding unit forgrinding an edge of the broken glass plate; a glass conveyor unit forconveying the glass plate sequentially through the cutting unit,breaking unit and grinding unit; and control means connected to thecutting unit and the grinding unit for providing common control over thecutting unit and grinding unit, the control means being connected to thebreaking unit such that, while the cutting unit and the grinding unitare in motion, the breaking unit performs an associated operation, saidbreaking unit comprising an end cutting means for forming an auxiliarycutting line on the unshaped glass plate to facilitate breaking theglass plate, and a pressing means for pressing the glass plate, on whichthe cutting line and the auxiliary cutting line are formed by saidcutting unit and said end cutting means, to break the glass plate alongthe cutting line, and a moving means for moving said end cutting meansand said pressing means in a predetermined position over the glass plateunder control of said control means, said moving means having a firstmovable means on which said end cutting means and said pressing meansare mounted, a first moving unit for moving said first movable means ina first direction over the glass plate, a second movable means on whichsaid first movable means and said first moving unit are mounted, and asecond moving unit for moving said second movable means in seconddirection different from said first direction over the glass plate.
 2. Aglass plate working machine according to claim 1, wherein said movingmeans moves said end cutting means and said pressing means in an X-Yplane coordinate system.
 3. A glass plate working machine according toclaim 1, wherein said moving means moves said end cutting means and saidpressing means in a polar coordinate system.